Engine-starter.



v, BENDIX. ENGINE STARTER. APPLICATION HL' EDJUNE 29, 1917.

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Patented Apr. 8,1919. 7

VINCENT BENDIX, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

' Patented Apr. 8, 1919.

Application filed June 29, 1917. Serial No. 177,758.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, VINCENT BnNnrx, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Engine-Starters, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that type of engine starter and to the transmission or drive portion thereof as exemplified in general in patents heretofore issued to me, for instance, Patent- No. 1,172,864, dated February 22, 1916, in which a prime mover such as an electric motor communicates its power to a member or wheel of the engine to be started through a transmission or drive including a rotatable shaft such as a screw shaft and member, such as a pinion, mounted thereon for longitudinal movement therewith and rotary movement thereof, such pinion being adapted to operatively engage said member or wheel.

The object of my invention is to produce a drive of this type but of somewhat different construction, and characterized more particularly by the provision of a hollow screw shaft positively driven by the driving shaft, but having longitudinal movement with respect thereto, and further characterized by providing resilient driving means between the pinion and the wheel by connecting the gear ring in resilient manner to such wheel.

In the drawings Figure 1 is an elevation of a drive embodying my invention showing a portion of the electric motor in elevation, and a portion of the fly wheel andgear ring in section; Fig. 2 a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 an elevation but on a reduced scale of the wheel shown in Fig. 1.

Referring to the embodiment of my invention as herein shown, the driving shaft 1, while here shown as the extended armature shaft of the electric motor A, may be a shaft driven thus directly or indirectly by a prime mover. Upon this-shaft there is splined, as by means of the key 2, a hollow screw shaft 3 fitting on the driving shaft and capable of longitudinal movement thereof and positive rotary movement by reason of said key. This screw shaft is normally held toward the left with its collar or stop nut against the shoulder a on the shaft 1, with a yielding pressure, as by means of the coiled spring 4 surrounding the outer end of the driving shaft, and bearing at one end against the screw shaft, and at the other end against a washer 5 held onto the driving shaft by the head 6.

The driving member is in the form of a pinion 7 and is screw-threaded upon the screw shaft so as to have a movement thereon and a rotary movement therewith. When the electric motor is 0perated and the driving shaft, and consequently the screw shaft thereby rotated, the

pinion will be advanced longitudinally to the left and into mesh with the member of the engine to be started. When full mesh obtains and the pinion abuts the stop nut 3*, it will partake of the rotary movement of its screw shaft and then cause the driving of said engine wheel. In the event that the pinion teeth should strike end to end the teeth of the gear ring hereinafter described, the screwing actlon between the screw shaft and pinion will continue, but the screw shaft will yield against the plnion of the spring 4 by moving to the right to a slight extent until by reason of the stoppage of the pinion the latter will be rotated slightly, and thereby be brought into register with the gear ring, thereby secured.

The engine wheel which is here the fly wheel 8 of the englne to be started, is made somewhat different from the usual fly wheel in that its gear ring 9 is made separate from the wheel proper and is adapted to slide to a limited extent peripherally thereon. This gear ring is held in proper position against such peripheral movement vwith a yielding pressure as by means of a series or pairs of springs 10, acting in opposite directions and through them communicating the power of the electric motor to the fly wheel proper of the-engine. As shown these springs are pivoted at their outer ends'to studs 11 fastened to the wheel 8, and pivoted at their inner ends to the studs 12, fastened to the gear r1n 'l he pinion 7 is positively driven by the electric motor, that is, there is no yielding driving connection interposed between such motor. and the pinion, but such yielding driving connection is thus interposed between the pinion and the fly wheel proper in the form of this yielding gear ring which is itself positively driven by the meshing of its teeth 9 with the pinion teeth.

and full meshing longitudinal is adapted to have driving engagement when advanced longitudinally on its shaft.

2. A rotatable drivingshaft, a screw shaft directly connected to and driven thereby and having a longitudinal movement in respect thereto and a rotary movement therewith, a

driving member mounted on the screw shaft for longitudinal movement thereon and rotary movement therewith, means-for holding the screw shaft in a normal position longitudinally with a yielding pressure, in combination with a wheel of the engine to be started, said wheel having a yielding peripheral portion with which said member is adapted to have driving engagement when advanced longitudinally onits shaft.

3. A rotatable driving shaft, a hollow screw shaft mounted thereon for rotary movement therewith and longitudinal movement thereon and directly and positively driven thereby, a driving member mounted on thescrew shaft for longitudinal move.- ment thereof and rotary movement therewith, in combination with a wheel of the engine to be started, said wheel having a yielding peripheral portion with which said member is adapted to have driving engageniileat when advanced longitudinally on its s a t. i

4:. A rotatable driving shaft, a hollow screw shaft mounted thereon for rotary movement therewith and longitudinal movement thereon and directly and positively driven thereby, a driving member mounted on the screw shaft for longitudinal movement-thereof and rotary movement therewith, means for holding the screw shaft in with, aspring for holding the screw shaft 9 in a normal position longitudinally, in combination with a wheel of the engine to be started, said wheel having a yielding peripheral portion with which said member is adapted to have driving engagement when advanced longitudinally on its shaft.

6. A rotatable driving shaft, a hollow screw shaft mounted thereon for rotary movement therewith and longitudinal movement thereon and directly and positively driven thereby, a driving member mounted on the screw shaft for 'longitudinalmovement thereof and [rotary movement there with, a coiled spring encircling the outer end of the driving shaft and bearing respectively against such shaft and the screw shaft, in combinationwith a wheel of the engine to be started, said wheel having a yielding peripheral portion with which said member is adapted to have vdriving engagement when advanced longitudinally on its shaft. I

7. A rotatable driving shaft, a hollow screw shaft mounted driving shaft, a pinion screw-threaded on on and splined to the a the screw shaft, a spring bearing against F the screw shaft for holding it to a normal longitudinal position on the driving shaft, in combination with a wheel of the engine to be started, said wheel having a yielding peripheral portion with which said member is adapted to have driving engagement when advanced longitudinally on its shaft.

' VINCENT BENDIX. 

